How To Fix A Broken Bed Side Rail – The DIY Guide

Knowing how to fix a broken bed side rail should not be the reason you stress and work yourself off.

It is as simple as you are about to find out in this article.

While going to bed, you need to be comfortable to enjoy a good night’s sleep. But on a bed with broken side rails, you risk falling off.

Knowing how to fix wood bedside rails is quite simple with several options to choose from. You could either reinforce the frame to the bed, fill the cracks or refinish the entire side rails as new. 

Why Would a BedSide Rail Break?

 Before we figure out the best ways on how to fix a wooden bed frame rail, it is necessary that we begin with when and why the bed side rails break.

Maybe, yours has already been broken, then you will need to get to know how to fix wood bedside rails here.

So, what are the main causes behind the breaking of your bedside rails? 

Here are the common ones. 

Fasteners  

Bed rails are held in position to the frame with fasteners.

Fasteners are those cylindrical flat metals with holes that screws are driven through to increase the grip.

Once the fasteners lose their grip, they should be worked on promptly.

This is because the bed side rails are then at the highest danger of breaking at the lightest weight.

Cracks 

Cracks are common with wood and there are many reasons why cracks would happen. Usually, most occur while the beds are still being made.

They might happen anywhere on the rails, and with time, the chances of them breaking every passing day increase.

If left for too long, the crack becomes irreparable and the bed side rails will definitely fall off.

Weight 

Of course, the weight could as well lead to the breaking of the bed side rails.

Beds are used for a beehive of activities. When they are overworked, the side rails tend to loosen, then they break off.

Also, there could be an event where so many people or friends come to visit you, and you all are seated on your bed.

If their weight outweighs that which the rails can hold, the bed side rails might break off.

Finish

And lastly, bed side rails might break because of a poor finish.

It’s either the wood used in making the entire bed, including the side rails, is of poor quality, or they might have been exposed to unfriendly conditions for a long time, such as a lot of moisture or sunshine.

These situations tend to damage the bed rails and with time, they are going to break off.

How To Fix A Broken Bed Side Rail (Wooden)

If, in any case, your bed frame rail accidentally broke, then do not fret.

You came to the right place and we will quickly give you the easy way to fix it back. 

Yours isn’t the first one, nor the last. Bed frame rails have been breaking since the invention of beds and people have been fixing them.

So why wouldn’t you fix yours? The best part is that you can fix it even without engaging a carpenter. 

So, below are some ways on how to fix wood bed side rails. 

Reinforce The Bed Frame Rails

Now, top on our list of the best ways on how to fix a wooden bed frame rail is to reinforce the bed frame rails.

This fix works best when the breakage isn’t too serious to prompt total replacement.

Here, you need to assemble a few pieces of wood, a drill, and a screw.

For certainty, follow the procedure below to reinforce the bed frame back into position. 

Step #1. Bring Together All The Tools You Will Need

First and foremost, before you begin to reinforce a broken bed frame rail, assemble all the tools you need.

As stated earlier, you will only need a screwdriver, a drill, and a few pieces of wood. 

Step #2. Strip The Bed

Once you have all the tools for work, strip the bed. That is, take off the bed sheets, duvets, blankets, and mattress.

You do this mainly because you will need a good working space devoid of any hindrances to carry out the reinforcement. 

Tip: Do not strip the slats from the bed while reinforcing, you will need them to support the wood. 

Step #3: Cut The Wood Into Sizes

Using a hand saw, carefully cut the new pieces of wood.

You will be using this wood to reinforce the broken frame rails into the same width and thickness as the preexisting one.

Make sure to cut only what is enough. And if the damage made to the rails is overboard, then ensure that you fix all the parts of the frame. 

Tip: Use as many screws and reinforce a larger portion of the rails to be sure that for a long time again, you won't be bothered by broken side rails. 

Once you have the wood ready, carefully fix them in the same place where the cracked or broken ones are.

Drive the new screws deep into the wood without forgetting to hold them to grip with fasteners. 

Tip: Drive into the rails as many screws as you can to ensure that the reinforcement wins it. 

Filling Cracks 

Sometimes, the broken side of a bed rail might not be too serious. Your bed might still be strong enough to accommodate your weight, although losing it slowly.

If you want to fix a broken side rail resulting from cracks, then here are the steps that you want to follow.

Step #1. Assess The Crack

First, go around the bed, assessing the intensity of the cracks that led to the collapsing of the bed side rails. 

This will help you figure out how you are going to fix them based on the intensity.

Remove all or any wood splinters, dust, and debris because you will be using glue here. 

Step #2. Apply The Glue

Once you have the fallen bed rails and the frame cleaned, fasten them in their previous place with your hands, swiftly and carefully apply glue with a lot of precision. 

The best way to do it is to use glue bottles with sharp and elongated tops that dive deep into the frames and the wood.

Once you have applied glue, use a putty knife to evenly spread out the glue to improve the grip. 

Let the glue dry and check to see whether there are still any cracks that might still cause the problem to reoccur once it has dried off.

If there are places you can add more of it, then do so.  

Tip: It is also important that you reinforce the glue with screws in this method. 

Use Nails And A Hammer

In the condition where the bed side rail appears to be irreparable, nails and a hammer can save you the moment. Although this might not last for too long.

This is a risky idea because it could probably worsen the damage. 

But if you insist and think you can do it a lot more carefully, then use the hammer to nail the side rails back in position.

Do it carefully, slowly with a lot of precision. Use smaller nails that won’t rip off the side rails.

Tip: Since you will be dealing with the smaller nails and a hammer, be extremely cautious so that you do not injure yourself. 

Conclusion

Figuring out how to fix a broken bed side rail is a do-it-yourself thing unless you can afford a professional.

You do not have to invest in a new bed just because the side rails broke. 

Fortunately for you, you won’t be doing that. In this article, you got enlightened and informed on how easy and fast fixing a broken wooden bed rail can be.

Move in with speed and DIY.